Of Mana and Psynergy
by Galdr
Summary: After being banished from Iselia, Lloyd and Genis leave to find Colette. Along the way, they save two travelers, Matthew and Karis, from a pack of wolves, with Genis noticing their huge "mana". Strange. Dawnshipping inside, other pairings soon to come. Read and review, please. Flames will be abolished. [Stopped]
1. Chapter 1

All right, so first here's an apology to my readers from ADB (A Dragon's Boon) if you guys see this. I apologize that I can't continue that story for awhile since my stepbrother confiscated his Wii, which I was using as my original Wii failed to read discs. Therefore, I can't play Radiant Dawn (no less, any other Wii game or GCN games) anymore to continue ADB. I won't get a new Wii until like…in until Christmas, really. I can find a game script but that isn't much fun as trying to visualize the fights while the game's on. I'm very sorry.

On a flip side, one of my GCNs sort of work, but it's unreliable in the least. It plays Tales of Symphonia just fine (for now), and I don't have to worry about Golden Sun on a console since all three are on handhelds. So, I want to start this story while I wait for the family to get another Wii, or until I can afford one for myself. No, I don't want the Wii-U. I have no idea if it can play GCN games and I won't bet my reviving crackers on it. (Sorry Baten Kaitos readers if you see this. It was a bad pun). Plus, it's expensive and I'm saving up for a 3DS…Anyway, enough of my sappy ramblings. Don't worry ADB won't die! I won't let it!

Enjoy this!

* * *

**Of Mana and Psynergy **

**I**

"By the rights vested in me as mayor, I hereby announce the banishment of Lloyd and Genis from thevillage of Iselia." A man with a grey hat on his head with black hair underneath said as he glared at two young boys standing in front of him. People standing near the scene, a couple of men and women, also glared, however some in particular had cast on worried faces. "Get out!" the Mayor finished angrily, jabbing a finger at the two, pointing to the exit of the village. Once the deed was done, he and the group of villagers left the scene to quickly douse the flames their hometown had suffered from the Desians—a race of half-elves—attack. The two boys, one in red and the other with notably silver-white hair, sighed deeply. They caused a mess, all for breaking the non-aggression treaty Iselia had with the Desians. Of course, it wasn't entirely their fault.

The Desians had attacked them first. Or so, they thought…

"I'm sorry for causing you trouble." Lloyd, the boy in red, said with a somber tone.

An elderly woman, Phaidra, and a man around his thirties, Frank, approached the two now-outcasts. "If you feel that way, Lloyd, please catch up with Colette and protect her. If in doing so, the world is saved and I'm sure everyone will have to think differently about you." She said.

"I'm sure Colette would want that as well." Frank, the man with blond hair, said with a weak smile.

Lloyd nodded in agreement after a second of pondering. "…Yeah. I'll atone for what I've done. I swear to protect Colette for the sake of those who have died because of me."

The other, younger boy with silver-white hair turned to him, his blue eyes set on his friend. "I'll follow you, Lloyd. It's my fault that you were banished. So I promise to stick by you, always." The brunet smiled lightly at his friend's loyalty and nodded again. "Thanks Genis." After a moment, his auburn eyes fell on the red, glowing stone in his elven friend's hands.

"Say, Genis. Why don't you use that Exsphere?"

"What…?" Genis wondered, glancing down at the ruby jewel in his hands then back up to his friend's gaze. "Wh—?"

"It's Marble's memento."

The boy looked down again and sadly nodded. "Yeah…It is."

"I'll explain to you on how to use the Key Crest later. After all, it looks like it's going to be a long journey." Lloyd added, now heading off towards the exit of the village. "Come on, we should be going before the mayor decides to come back and chew us out for not leaving…"

"You're right…"

Phaidra and Frank decided to follow them until their last moments, stopping at the gates as Lloyd and Genis crossed them. A green and white looking creature was standing outside the village gates and whined as soon as the red-clad swordsman approached him. "Let's go, Noishe…"

"Don't throw your lives away." The elderly blonde woman says to them.

"May the goddess Martel protect you both."

The boys nod quietly before leaving the village, heading out into the vast field of Sylvarant. The sun was still out, as it was now a little bit after the noonday since the incident. A breeze swept by the two boys as they began their trek to find Colette, their blonde-haired friend. After walking a great distance, in a light clearing surrounded by a few rough but small cliffs, Noishe rushes up behind them—after running off due to being afraid of monsters—and howls. Startled, Lloyd and Genis turn to find something in the wolf-dog's mouth.

"Hm? What is it? What's that in your mouth?" The brunet wonders.

Genis turns to Lloyd, having noticed something. "Look, your bag's open. You probably dropped it."

"Oh, thanks Noishe. Let's see…" Lloyd takes the item from Noishe, finding it to be a parchment. "It's a letter from Dad…"

"From Dirk?" Genis asks, curious.

"Yeah." The red-clad boy confirms. "I wonder what's written in it." A moment of silence passed as Lloyd read the letter nearly aloud, smiling at one point in the letter when his eyes roved over the words. When it was finished, the brunet sighed. "…Dad." He puts the letter away in his bag, making sure it's closed up for sure. Just as they were heading off from their small break, something shouted…

"Karis! Look out!"

It wasn't too far from where they were, but it was still close! Lloyd and Genis exchanged glances before hurrying off to find the source of the shout. As they ran, they spotted two people fending off monsters—a pack of wolves—however they were surrounded! "Genis! We have to help them!" Lloyd said, taking out his twin, wooden blades. He really wished he could have gotten real ones, though.

"Right!" The elven boy took out his kendama and began charging up mana for his spell. Lloyd rushed forward, charging a wolf with an attack. The two victims blinked in surprise when they saw the red-clad swordsman, wondering where he came from, but decided was not the best time to act upon curiosity.

"**Sonic Thrust**!" Lloyd shouted as he drove his right guided sword into the wolf he charged, using his mana to shape his blade into the attack.

"**Fire Ball**!" Genis commanded the magic to char the same wolf Lloyd struck.

There were three wolves left; the beasts were growling as they were stalking around in a circle, ready to attack again.

One of them, a girl with light green hair and purple eyes, took this chance and fired off two arrows of what seemed to be made out of wind magic from her bow, surprising both Genis and Lloyd—the former the most though. The arrows struck two of the three remaining wolves critically, instantly felling them. The last wolf charged almost blindly at the girl, however, it was cut off by the other person, a boy with spiky blond hair, wielding a strange blade—a sword with a two-prong in it like a fork—in his hands. Without a second thought, the boy plunged the weapon into the ground, shouting, "**Rockslide**!"

A shaking earthquake slightly roared underneath the wolf, the rocks of what seemed to be magic, yet again, collided with the monster, felling it. That was over.

"Whoa…" Genis gaped. He'd never seen a magic attack like that.

"That was cool!" Lloyd finished for his elven friend. "Hey, are you two all right?"

Closely looked upon, the girl with light green hair had her hair in a ponytail, some of her bangs brushed to the right side of her face. She had the most beautiful shade of amethyst eyes, her fair complexion and earrings from her ears. She was adorned in a white tunic, blessed with gold lining down the center seam of the outfit. She wore long, white gloves, a green bracelet around her left wrist, and underneath her tunic and the gloves, her shoulders were covered in maroon. The leggings she wore were of a brownish-purple material and white boots complimented her outfit. Lastly, she had a small, violet cape falling from her shoulders to her backside and a strange, intricately carved bow in her hands.

Next to her, was the boy with the spiky blond, hair. It seemed to have been stuck there naturally to the right, much like Lloyd's hair does. He sported the same fair complexion as his companion, having pale-blue eyes instead, and was dressed a little differently than she was. He had on a red shirt, covered by a blue jacket with short sleeves, exposing the long sleeve of the red. He wore darker blue pants, brown full-gloves and boots, with the gloves having gold bands around them. Draped around his neck was an orange-yellow colored scarf that fell nearly to his rear. His sword seemed to be a combination of a short sword and a fork, which was weird.

Strangely enough, these two had a vast amount of mana radiating off them, Genis could tell, but decided to not pry on that.

"We're fine, thank-you." The girl began cheerfully.

"Thank-you for helping us." The spiky blond added, smiling.

"You're welcome." Lloyd said, putting his swords away. "Are you two traveling by chance?"

"Ah, yes we are." The green-haired girl began. "We were on our way to an IseliaVillage, as we got directions to head there from a traveling caravan's owner. Well, that's when we were attacked by those monsters."

"Oh, well you don't want to go to Iselia…" Lloyd told her, earning a pair of surprised glances from the two strangers.

"Why not…? Did something…happen?" The boy with the rapier-like weapon asked as he put it away.

"Yeah. Desians burned it down and…well…" Genis trailed.

The two strangers glanced at one another, not entirely sure of something. "Desians…?" They asked in wonder, completely confused. This sparked both Lloyd's and Genis' attention. Were these two serious? Did they not know about the murderous half-elves?

"You…don't know them?" The brunet asked, shocked.

"We-well, no actually. We just…arrived here. We're lost." The girl admitted.

"And we're looking for someone…" the blond added.

"Arrived? So you're travelers, then?" Genis asked.

"Yeah, you can say that…" The blond-haired boy replied shakily, earning a suspicious glance from the former Iselian natives. "Oh, it's rude of us to not introduce ourselves. I'm Matthew."

The girl beside him nodded. "I'm Karis."

"Oh, right. I'm Lloyd Irving, and this is my friend Genis. You see, we're actually on our way to find some friends of ours after the village burned…"

"You're not going back to help them put it out?!" Karis half shouted, surprised, making the two flinch.

"We can't..." Lloyd sadly expressed.

"Why not?" Matthew half pressed, concerned.

"We were banished." Genis added, looking in downcast. "We can't go back…They won't allow us to."

"That's terrible!" the greenet gasped. "I'm sorry."

"It's okay." Lloyd assured her. "Besides, even if you two went there, they would be hostile about letting you two come in there. The place is a wreck and this isn't the best time to approach them."

"Oh…That's bad." Matthew said, turning to his friend. "Karis, looks like we're going to be lost again. Without a map of this place, too."

"Yeah…"

"Well, if you're lost, you can come with us." Lloyd invited. "It would be bad if we left you here."

"I agree. Come with us!" Genis prodded, smiling. "I mean, it beats being out here and not knowing where to go. That, and we have a map!" Matthew and Karis exchanged glances with one another before turning to the two natives of Sylvarant, nodding in agreement. It was better than being totally lost in some place they didn't know where they were. "If you're sure, then we'll be more than happy to come along with you." Karis said.

"Great!" Lloyd laughed. "Glad to have you both with us!"

They were friendly, thank goodness, but Genis still noticed the presence of their high level of mana. It was strange, almost frightening, but they didn't seem all that bad. They were more or less around their age, and humans, no less. Strong humans, like Lloyd.

As they were walking, Genis held out the map Lloyd received from Dirk hours earlier, looking at it carefully. Karis also looked at it, studying it and trying to memorize the locations of the towns and cities. Lloyd and Matthew, however, were having a light discussion, obviously about swords. "You use two swords, huh? That's pretty neat and unique." Matthew complimented, which Lloyd took pride in proudly.

"Yeah, I do. See, when I was younger, I was told that one apple plus another apple equaled two, and thus, you'd have more apples to eat. I thought if I used two swords, I'd be twice as strong!"

Matthew sweatdropped, laughing lightly. "I can see your logic behind that." He didn't want to ruin Lloyd's good mood about 'that usually doesn't apply to fighting' comment though decided it wasn't best to indulge on that. "Did your parents teach you that or were you self-taught?"

"I'm self-taught mostly." Lloyd answered. "What about you?"

"Well, my dad started teaching me when I was five years old. I'm surprised my mom let him do that, really." Matthew started, thinking. "However, as I traveled around, I improved in my swordsmanship, getting faster and stronger. I developed my own techniques, too."

"You traveled by yourself to hone your skills?"

"No, not entirely." Matthew said, shaking his head. "I had my friends with me. Karis is one of them." He nodded to the girl beside Genis, chatting to the elven boy about where to go. "We were on a journey…" The blond trailed, stopping himself from going any further.

"A journey, huh? That sounds exciting. Genis and I were going on a journey, too." Lloyd admitted.

This caught Matthew's attention quickly. "Really?"

"Yeah. See, the friend we're trying to catch up with is going to regenerate the world." The brunet announced proudly. "Her name's Colette—she's the Chosen."

"Chosen…?"

"You don't know…? Oh right, new…" Lloyd reminded himself, earning a chuckle from the spiky haired blond. "Well, the Chosen's journey of regeneration will save us from the Desians and keep mana flowing into Sylvarant, our world. It's in decline because Desians use up a lot of mana in their ranches." The brunet was amazed he remembered all of that. Normally, he'd have forgotten.

"Sounds exciting, and…what is mana?" was Matthew's next question. Lloyd nearly fell over, and Genis, having lightly heard the conversation, blinked in confusion.

"You don't know what mana is?" Both boys questioned Matthew.

"Well, I just don't know." The blond swordsman admitted.

"Neither do I." Karis perked in. "In fact, this energy I've been feeling since we got here is strange enough. It's not like…how we know it."

"Wait, you can _feel_ the energy around?" Genis questioned, surprised. When the two nodded, he fell into a stage of stupidity. Almost. How could humans feel mana? Elves were the only ones who could tell, and to a lesser degree, so could half-elves. The boy mage had to know.

"A-are you guys elves or something?"

"Elves?" Karis repeated. "No, we're not elves."

"We're not even half-elves either." Matthew added, Genis lightly flinching at the comment, to which nobody saw. "I heard half-elves are not welcome in this…world. It's really sad."

"Yeah…" Genis mumbled.

"So wait, you're saying you're completely human, then?" Lloyd asked next, still baffled.

"Yeah." Both responded simply.

"That's awesome. Wait, so that move you pulled off earlier…?" The brunet directed this to Matthew, who smiled.

"Y-yeah, that's…uh…"

"Had to be magic." Genis finished, almost. "I thought only elves and half-elves could use magic. It seems weird. Maybe you have elven ancestry. There's no other way to explain it." Matthew and Karis once again exchanged looks before deciding to agree with the boy. They couldn't tell him the truth…

"Yeah, we might." Karis said slowly. "W-well, we should be going along now. At this rate, we'll never catch up with your friend."

"Oh right! We should go!" Lloyd concluded, taking the lead of the small group of now-friends, Genis beside him. Matthew and Karis decided to stay in the back of them, though not too far away. This strange world they appeared in only a day ago…It was weird.

-x-x-x-

A few hours passed as the teens continued their trek, with the sun beginning to set very slightly over the horizon. The group had a few more run-ins with monsters, however with the combined power of the four, the battles went by quickly as they came. With the sky changing colors, it looked like it would get dark soon. Lloyd and Genis were still in front of Matthew and Karis, which was a bit of a good thing. The girl eyed her friend slightly, calling his name.

"Matthew…" Karis began quietly to the boy next to her. He looked her way in acknowledgement as she continued. "I… I don't think we should tell them where we're from yet, and how we can use Psynergy, or that we're Adepts."

"Why is that?"

"Well, for safety precautions. You know? Let's just go along with what they say. I assume this energy we've been picking up on is this 'mana' they talked about. So, it seems to work in the same fashion as our Psynergy, albeit a bit differently."

"Hm, that's true. I can recover my Psynergy a little faster here than when were in our world." The blond sighed a little. "I really don't like lying to them, though. They're good people, I can feel it."

"Yeah. It's not that I don't trust them. It's just…well…"

"I understand, Karis. I hope we can find my Dad soon and the Teleport Lapis…"

"Me too."

"Hey! Matthew! Karis! You two coming?" They heard Lloyd's voice call to them. The Adepts looked up from their conversation, noticed they were falling behind by at least a mile. They chuckled to themselves before hurrying along after Genis and Lloyd. Apparently, being in deep conversation distracted you from knowing your surroundings. "Sorry. We were just talking about what we'd do after getting to the next town."

"That's okay." Genis said, folding the map of Sylvarant. "We think Colette and the others—my sister Raine and this mercenary named Kratos—would be at Triet." The two Adepts nod, though the wondering of what Triet was had been apparent on both Lloyd's and Matthew's faces. Sighing, Karis shook her head. "It's the next town after Iselia. It's a town in a desert oasis town." Hearing this, both swordsmen grimaced, more so at the desert word. Lloyd had read once that deserts were unnaturally hot; Matthew also had read up on them being hot, and had extra confirmation from his father, uncle and mother about it. All three of them, along with their friends on their journey, to light the Lighthouses, had experienced the tortures of three deserts in total. The one most familiar in their stories that struck Matthew was the LamakanDesert.

That place was…he didn't even want to think about it. It's a good thing their world altered in the last thirty years or they'd have gone through that torturous place. Of course, Matthew had once been inside a volcano. Deserts were one thing, but literally being in a volcano was another. "Ugh…" Matthew grumbled to himself.

"A desert? _Seriously_?" Lloyd groaned in complaint.

"Well, we have to Colette and the others!" Genis stated further. "It's the only way." After that, the boy said, "There's a House of Salvation up ahead. We should stop there and rest. We should also stay there until tomorrow."

"House of Salvation…?" Karis wondered, Matthew as well.

"It's like an inn." Genis explained. "It's for the Chosen's journey but they let other travelers rest there."

"Oh."

"You know, it'd be wise to travel during the night." Matthew said, earning the glances of the other three.

"It's dangerous to walk anywhere at night. Bandits and thieves attack more often at night." Genis said.

"That may be true, but deserts are cooler at night, and it's dangerous for our health to walk in the heatwave, too." The blond-haired Adept replied. "If we travel the desert at night, it'll be easier for us. It's cooler than traveling by daylight, where it's screaming hot. Before the sun rises, we can find some shade to rest in and wait for nightfall again."

"That seems like the best way to go." Karis agreed.

"…Well, that is a point…" The elven boy said softly.

"I think we can try that. But we'll be at the House of Salvation for awhile though." Lloyd spoke up. "Come on, we're not too far from the House of Salvation. Let's go."

-x-x-x-

Upon reaching the House of Salvation, with the sunset beginning to glow a dark orange and red in the sky, Genis stopped the group, turning to them. "You know…If we're wandering around, I don't think we'll catch up with Colette and the others any faster."

"You're right." Lloyd noted. "We can ask everybody we meet if they've seen Colette."

"Okay. There's a traveler right there. Let's ask him." Genis pointed out to a man with brown hair, a small beard, wearing a green cap, and had a backpack on his back. The four walked over to him, the young boy in blue starting a small conversation. "Excuse me." He pardoned politely.

"Hm? What is it?" The traveler wondered, gazing at the young boy and his friends.

"Did Colette—I mean, did the Chosen's group pass by here by chance? Do you know?"

"Beats me." The man shrugged. "What do they look like?"

"Um. Well, one is a young girl with blonde hair, wearing white robes. Another is wearing orange and she has hair like mine, and lastly, is a man wearing purple. He carries a sword." Genis explained.

The man pondered a bit before shaking his head. "I haven't seen them. Sorry."

"I see…" Genis sadly sighed.

"Hm, are you four on a pilgrimage?"

"Yeah, something like that."

"You don't look like you're very used to traveling…" The traveler admitted, earning a frown from the four teens. "Do you have a map?"

"Huh? Oh, yeah we have one." Genis said, taking it out. The man examined it, nodding.

"You know, in each region of the world, there's something called a GuidepostMonument. Your travels will become easier if you seek them out."

"I didn't know that…" Genis admitted, Lloyd staring at him, baffled. The two Adepts nodded as they seemingly understood. "Thank-you very much, sir."

"You're welcome. You four be careful now."

"We will be."

Genis nodded to his friends as they left the traveler's company, now heading inside the building to their left. Upon entering it, they saw a few people on the lower level, a man with brown hair, an elderly woman with her cane, her eyes closed in concentration, and a priest standing before a statue. Seeing as the priest would be a start, they headed towards him.

"Welcome to the House of Salvation." He said as the teens approached him. "If you're tired from your travels, you may wish to use the beds upstairs to rest." The priest smiled, the teens nodding.

"Thank-you, sir." Karis said. Wow, that was nice. They headed upstairs, seeing one room was unoccupied—however, saw only two beds. Great.

"Uh…" Lloyd blinked, glancing at his friends, more importantly, at Karis. She was the only female in their group. Someone would have to bunk with her. Or she'd just take the bed for herself and two of them would have to sleep on the floor.

"What?" Matthew wondered, then noticed the problem for himself. "…'Uh' is right." He sighed. "Well, I'll sleep on the floor. I don't mind."

"Me too." Lloyd said before Genis and Karis objected. The two swordsmen found themselves spare pillows and blankets, thanks to the old woman that had been upstairs. After paying one hundred gald—which were odd looking coins to the two Adepts—they booked the room together. It was agreed they would cross the desert the next evening. Nightfall reached the skies after an hour more of the sun's orange glow, casting over a starry sky with a quarter-moon perched in the midnight canvas.

"You know, I've been meaning to ask you both something." The brunet began as he placed his twin, wooden swords to the side, removing his boots and red coat, exposing his black, tank top shirt underneath.

"Yes?" Matthew edged after, removing his boots, jacket and sheathed sword as well, placing them to the side, his long sleeve shirt also exposed.

"How old are you two? You look about my age. I'm seventeen."

Genis shook his head. "Really, Lloyd?"

"What? I just wanted to know, that's all."

The elven boy shook his head, then looked to the Adepts. "Well, if he'll tell his age, I'll say mine. I'm twelve."

"I see. Well, that's pretty awkward to ask, but I'm sixteen." Karis replied. Genis nodded in agreement about this particular question being strange and awkward.

"I'm sixteen as well, just a few months older than Karis." Matthew answered.

"Oh, wow, I wouldn't have known that. You two actually don't look like you're…your age, I mean."

"We look younger than our age? We get that a lot." The girl chuckled slightly. "You don't look seventeen to me, either."

"Heh."

"Hm, well, we better get some sleep for tomorrow. Don't wake up too early, though. Maybe during the noonday, we should move around and get at least near the desert's edge, then break for camp." Karis told them.

"Yeah. Best save our energy for then." Genis agreed.

"Right, well, good night everyone." Lloyd said while he stretched. Genis removed his shoes and top shirt, leaving his dark blue shirt underneath it on. Karis followed likewise with her own boots, gloves and small cape. Speaking of, Matthew unwrapped his scarf, using it as more of a pillow than the pillow itself. Despite Karis, Genis and Lloyd having fallen asleep minutes later, Matthew couldn't. In fact, it was when he, his father and Karis landed in this strange world that he couldn't sleep. It had to be anxiety taking over him as well as worry.

Worry of his father.

_Dad…Wherever you are in this world, please be safe…I can…barely feel your signature._ Matthew said to himself, drifting to sleep finally.

-x-x-x-

Somewhere else, far away…

-x-x-x-

A man was sitting down near his make-shift campsite, made of a huge wall of stone, it appeared. It would keep monsters from getting in, unless they flew from above. Only those strange hawks did, which were easily dispatched by the man. He had short, untamed mass of blond hair, spiking towards the right, a beard of the same color running down his face and a set of pale-blue eyes that were familiar. He wore a long coat of blue, which reached past his thighs if he stood up, a grey-blue shirt underneath, dark blue pants, brown boots and black, leather half-gloves. He sported a short, orange scarf draped around his neck, which was tucked in under the coat. A brown belt fastened itself over his pants to hold them in place, and his well defined body shape could lead a person to guess this man was experienced in battle.

He rubbed his chin contemplatively, a large sword at his side, as he was seemingly in deep thought.

"Well…Isaac…It seems you got yourself a problem." The man mused to himself, indicating himself in third person for some reason. "Can't believe I got Matthew and Karis dragged into this…" He glanced up at the sky, the moon's gaze staring back at him. With a sigh, he relaxed just a little, but still with worry.

"I know they can handle themselves, but I still worry about them…I know Ivan and Jenna will kill me when they find out…"

* * *

And, that's it for now. Yeah, I'm following ToS game because I can. With, of course, some twists.

Hope you enjoy this. I'm still sorry about ADB. Review if you like. Flames shall be used to fuel my imagination lamp, then they'll be extinguished. Oh yes, GS fans, if you were wondering what weapons Karis and Matthew have, Karis has the Sagittarius Bow and Matthew has the Verdant Sword. I figured the Sol Blade is with him, but it'll "appear" when he needs it, and it'd be too, well "showy". Yeah.


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter two, here we go. Enjoy!

* * *

**Of Mana and Psynergy**

**II**

After two days and a half passed, the group of four teens and Noishe had finally reached the desert's edge, having started through their trek at nightfall, just as Matthew had suggested. The area was full of sand, sand, and of course, more sand. The desert's breeze swept over them, bringing dust and debris with it, pelting the teenagers at every other turn. It was annoying, to say the least. Thankfully, they didn't have to worry about the torturous heatwave as books claimed the dry deserts had, and were glad the priests at the House of Salvation gave them a few traveling supplies they could spare. This included water in canteens, blankets, pillows and food.

"Ugh, just sand dunes everywhere we look!" Lloyd complained.

Genis sighed. "Well, look at the bright side. At least we aren't walking around during the day."

"I suppose so." The brunet replied, still grumbling.

Matthew and Karis remained behind the two chatting friends, though stayed close enough in case for monsters or bandits decided to sneak up on them. They had an edge anyway; Matthew could detect someone or something was coming due to the ground beneath his feet. Being on sand diminished the power a little, as it was just "softened dirt", though his abilities proved to be useful throughout their travels. When asked by Genis, he simply told the elf boy that his alignment of using magic was earth, and Karis told him that she was aligned with wind magic mostly. It was as close as they could get without revealing too much.

"Uh-oh, more monsters." Matthew alerted the group as he whipped out his fork-pronged blade, as Lloyd "dubbed" it. Karis took out her bow, Genis with his kendama and Lloyd with his double wooden blades. It annoyed the red-clad swordsman that Matthew had a real sword and he didn't. Ah well.

The monsters that foolishly challenged them were nothing more than these green snakes and scorpions. Pathetic.

"Hah! **Sword Rain**!" Lloyd shouted as his multiple jabbing attacks struck one of the scorpions. It hissed as each wooden blade's stab pierced through its tough hide.

"**Wind Blade**!" Genis chanted, casting the magic attack of wind to hit the same scorpion Lloyd attacked. The monster fell dead, and the boys turned to their next target.

"**Dragon Cloud**!" Matthew casted the flaming, roaring dragon of Psynergy from simply nowhere; the attack crushed one of the poisonous snakes. It managed to survive, only to be met with Matthew's down thrust. Karis dodged the other snake's poison attack, leaping towards the left when it tried, narrowing her violet eyes upon the monster.

A purple light emitted from her hands as she shouted "**Plasma**!" casting the Psynergy bolt upon the snake. It was zapped, falling to the group helplessly, hissing. Karis took this opportunity to finish it with a simple shot of her bow. The four then cornered the last monster, a scorpion, and something instinctively hit them.

"You ready?" Lloyd voiced. "Let's do this!"

"Ready!" Matthew replied.

Instantaneously, both swordsmen charged the scorpion simultaneously, crossing their blades at it with sharpened speed. They made an 'X' shape when they passed it, striking it down. Karis and Genis both casted Whirlwind and Wind Blade simultaneously after their friends struck the scorpion. It shattered to pieces, crumbling to the ground.

"Huh, that was great." The red-clad boy grinned. "We really work together well."

"Yeah." Karis giggled.

The group shared some comments and chuckles before continuing their way through the desert. An hour or so passed when they paused for a small break, and soon noticed over the horizon, that the sun's light was barely visible. Uh-oh. "The sun's coming up…" Genis paled. "We better find some shade soon."

"I agree. Let's hope we find something." The girl of the group agreed.

It wasn't long until they found an alcove from the sand dunes, hurrying to shelter inside it as the sun rose higher for the morning to begin. That was close. The teens sighed in relief and exasperation once they sat down in the shaded area, taking out their water canteens and drinking as much as they could without wasting or drinking all of it. "This heat is already eating at me." Lloyd grumbled in complaint. He took off his red jacket, now in his black tank top. Matthew chuckled slightly, putting his canteen away in his bag. He realized that the heat didn't bother him for some reason. That was odd. Half an hour ago, he was feeling annoyed by the heat's pressure, but now it seemed he didn't feel it anymore.

Ah well, he mused to himself, removing his blue jacket. They needed to rest first and then eat to refill their energy to walk again for the night.

A few minutes passed and the others were soundly asleep under the shade; Matthew had volunteered to be the day-watch first for bandits and monsters for a while. He stared out into the sand dunes, watching the dust blow about whimsically as he concentrated and thought deeply about…

-x-x-x-

_"You, Matthew, the boy with the strange and powerful mana…Rise." A masculine voice spoke to Matthew, who shook his head from shock. He and his friend, Karis, had landed somewhere in this odd, foreign world. _

_"Huh? …What? Where's my father…?" Matthew wondered, clueless. He stood up when he heard the voice speaking to him; he looked up and saw something he thought was a figment of his imagination. A…An angel?! And he knew his name, too?_

_"What the? Who are you?" The blond wondered, staring._

_"I am Remiel, an angel of Cruxis sent to guide the Chosen of Mana on her Journey of Regeneration." The angel replied monotonously. He had short blond hair, a hat of sorts atop his head, wearing green and white robes. His eyes were a pale blue color, though they seemed almost dead to Matthew. The spiky blond blinked, confused. Who was the Chosen? What was a Journey of Regeneration? Huh? _

_"Okay…" Matthew whispered. "So…uh…"_

_"Our leader of Cruxis has noticed your presence of mana, and has an offer for you, young one." _

_"Offer?" _

_The angel man nodded. "Yes. In order for the Chosen to succeed on her journey, she requires a guardian."_

_"…She does? What does that have to do with me?"_

_"We would like for you to become her guardian, young one." _

_Matthew paused. Him? A guardian of someone he didn't know? But, this was odd. Sure, he was exposed to the powers of both Luna and Sol—Darkness and Light—so why…? "Why me?"_

_"Our leader solely wishes that you protect the Chosen, to guard her as she awakens the seals and saves the world. We have enabled a Cruxis Crystal for you in order to transform into a greater force so protecting her will not become an hindrance to you." The angel continued. His eyes met with Matthew's stunned ones. "I ask that you—"_

_"…If I accept, what happens to me?" He was curious. He wasn't going to accept something that was foreign to him._

_"Should you accept, you will be granted a Cruxis Crystal, which shall transform you into an angel. Your heightened abilities and powers will lend you the aid you need to protect the Chosen. The transformation will be quick as you are needed to catch up with the Chosen to guard her as she releases the Seals." Remiel began almost in a repeat, holding out a golden sphere of sorts, encased in a silver crest. "You will also be able to tell where the Chosen is, should you become separated. When she is in peril, the crystal will alert your senses of her presence and guide you to where she is."_

_Matthew stared transfixed at the glowing gem embedded in the crest. This sounded so important and all the while, so odd. Why was he pulled into this? Of course, being in contact with the energies of Sol and Luna possibly made him stand out with the rush of Psynergy, but this? This was WEIRD. However, protecting people was something he liked doing, not only for himself but because he wanted to. Was he suitable for this? …He had to be, otherwise this otherworldly being wouldn't have approached him. He took a deep sigh of exasperation, locking his gaze with the angel's._

_"I accept. If it is to protect someone important to a journey to save the world, then I'll help in any way I can."_

_"Then, Matthew, guardian of Mana's might, I bestow upon you this Cruxis Crystal." The angel nodded for the boy to remove his scarf. Matthew blinked, then noticed and unraveled his scarf, exposing his neck. He was a little afraid, but what could happen, anyway? The glowing object floated near him, illuminating his hair and face; it suddenly flashed then it was done. The silver crest of the golden gem was around his neck like a choker, embedded there. Matthew gasped lightly, then suddenly, buckled over. He gaped, cried out, as his body was instantaneously changing for some reason._

_His Psynergy was collecting into one area of his body then it enveloped him like flames. He gagged, clutching his head as images burned into his memory. One thing for certain he saw was a young girl with long, blonde hair, blue eyes and wearing white robes was embedded into his memory. This had to be the Chosen of Mana, who he was asked to guard. To protect. Then, a sharp, agonizing pain erupted through his body and burned against his back. Something was coming, but the spiky blond couldn't tell what it was. _

_It was a mass of Psynergy, or mana, whatever it was, trying to break through some sealing, trying to be free. The boy couldn't hold it in any longer; with a breathing gasp, he allowed his energy to release itself. His golden Psynergy of earth whirled around his back as gold and white, transparent feathers fell around him. Matthew's pale-blue eyes widened when he saw a few falling before him. What? Feathers? He dared himself to look around and when he sensed the presence of Psynergy behind him, he looked. _

_Ejecting from his back, in the transparent form of his earth energy, were…wings. Wings? Matthew, stunned for about five minutes, watched as the magical wings outspread and flapped whimsically. They were almost like a bird's, but which bird, he was unsure of. The more he studied the wings, the more he grew wary of their shape. "…Heron…" He mumbled, recalling a faint image of one he read in a book. He'd always imagine what it was like to fly like the ancient race of the Anemos, which his friend, Karis, was a descendant of. But, all of this? This was weird! _

_"The transformation is complete." Remiel said as Matthew stood up with his extremely bright, glowing wings behind him. "You will soon discover your loss of many things, such as appetite, sleep, touch, taste and feel. These are small sacrifices in order to fulfill the purpose of guarding the Chosen." _

_What? He would lose his senses just to become a guardian angel? How selfless and selfish at the same time! _

_"Matthew, you now are no longer a human, but an angel. Find the Chosen of Mana and aid her." Remiel said, now beginning to disappear into the light in whence he came. Matthew stared at the winged man as he vanished, confused but in a way, not entirely. He lost his humanity all in that one moment? Would he ever go back to being normal after the Chosen's Journey was completed? What would he tell his father if they ever found him? "I don't know how I'd tell him… I can't just walk up to him and say, 'Hey Dad, guess what? I'm not a human anymore, I'm an angel, look!' …" Matthew sighed as his wings echoed his emotion. Would he lose his emotions, too? _

_"I should have asked… But… I better go find the Chosen." His eyes glanced to the unconscious form of Karis. "I can't tell her yet. Not now…I'm sorry, Karis."_

-x-x-x-

Matthew sighed, having glanced down. It had actually been a week since he and Karis arrived on this world, Sylvarant. Within the second day they had been there, that angel man appeared before him when Karis was knocked out. Perhaps, he was going through a stage of this angel transformation. Losing his senses just to become a guardian, hm? Sounded awkward to him, but he couldn't turn down anyone who needed help. His pale-blue eyes went to Lloyd and Genis; he couldn't tell them _either_. They would probably freak out. The blond had no choice. He'd have to keep it a secret.

It was a good thing they stumbled into the former Iselians. They would practically lead him to the Chosen instead of him trying to find her. He had feigned not knowing her or mana days ago. He didn't want them to be suspicious of him, but that only made them suspicious. Matthew sighed. "What have I gotten myself into?"

An hour later, Genis and the others woke up to allow Matthew to rest, which the blond was thankful he could actually do. He didn't lose his need for sleep yet. "When you wake up, Matthew, I'll have sandwiches made! You know, since it's too hot for anything hot to eat." The silver-haired elf boy smiled. The Adept nodded as he lied his head down on the pillow he had, making sure the Cruxis Crystal was invisible to them. The three of them began to indulge in a light conversation, namely about Triet and their plan of combat. The chatter began to fade off in Matthew's ears as he drifted off to sleep.

-x-x-x-

"…He's sleep, good." Karis confirmed the other two, having checked up on her spiky-haired Adept friend. "He looked so exhausted when we woke up."

"It bet it's the heat." Lloyd pointed out. "I'd be exhausted, too."

"Me too." Genis added as his hands were working on sandwiches. "Hey Karis, do you like tomatoes?"

"Hm? Oh, yeah they're okay on a salad and sandwich."

"Okay. I was asking since Lloyd doesn't like them." The elven mage glanced at his red-clad friend, who 'hmphed' after taking a bite out of his sandwich. "I wanted to be sure."

"Ah, I see. Lloyd, are you allergic to tomatoes or something?"

The boy shrugged, shaking his head, swallowing. "No, I just don't like them. They taste gross." He answered.

"That makes sense, I suppose. I don't like onions, if that counts for anything." Karis said, smiling awkwardly. "Matthew…it's hard to tell what he likes. He eats anything."

Genis and Lloyd glanced at each other then back to Karis. "_Anything_?" They repeated.

"Yeah…" The girl confirmed, losing her smile as she noticed their cringing faces. "What's with the face?"

"Uh… Well my sister has terrible cooking…" Genis began, shaking nervously. "Her stuff is…well it's just not good to eat."

"Oh. I didn't know. I…I hope we don't have to eat her cooking."

"Something tells me we will." Lloyd grumbled. The three went in downcast, shaking nervously. Karis looked up, trying to smile, but it was weak. Given that it was hot as hell out in the desert and thinking about someone's terrible cooking made her cringe in the stomach. How would she even survive?

"Uh, well, I hope it isn't as bad as you make it sound." The Adept girl said.

"Trust us…" Lloyd twitched. "It is."

-x-x-x-

On their third day through the desert, nightfall came and the teens proceeded through their trek of the desert once more. The evening breeze felt good to Karis; she enjoyed it as much as she could, despite dust and sand being blown their way. Before they set off, she dug into her bag and handed each of the boys a white, glowing feather. Genis and Lloyd gaped in surprise to see it, though the girl told them it was a Sacred Feather. Matthew followed up and explained it had the power to repel monsters. This way, they could reserve their energy for walking instead of battling so many monsters and growing exhausted. It was cheap, but it would help.

After explaining how it worked, they held up the feathers, the feathers 'exploding' as light swept over their bodies like a pile of down. Weird sensation, but it worked just fine.

Still, they had ran into some bandits, who demanded the boys hand over their money and Karis, but they fell as easily as flies were being swatted with a fly swatter. Karis herself fumed at the derogatory name they labeled her as, even using Whirlwind on them to send them packing at a far distance. Lloyd and Genis reminded themselves to not call Karis anything but her name, preferring to leave the "doll" comment away from her as possible. Matthew sighed when his friend did such. While she was the calmest person, she was the most feared one if she got upset. This was no different.

During the travel, they spotted something—or rather Matthew noticed—along the way. It was a campsite! He also noticed the crystal giving him the insight of the Chosen nearby as well. She was close, so that had to be them. "Come on! I think that's Colette and them!" Lloyd grinned in delight. He shot off like a rocket, with Genis and Noishe behind him.

"Wait for me, Lloyd!" The elf boy called out. Karis and Matthew exchanged looks before dashing off behind them.

At the campsite, a girl with long, blonde hair, wearing white robes, was lying down on her blanket that had been spread out earlier. Her eyes looked into the fire that was burning in the center. To her left was a young woman in about her early twenties with silver-white hair, blue eyes and wearing an orange robe over her dark blue pants and white shirt. To her left was a man in a purple outfit, his auburn hair over the left side of his face and the top portion of his hair spiked slightly to the right. The rest of his hair swept down, passing his ears a little. He had a sword sheathed to his left hip, his eyes closed, though he was not sleep.

However, he opened his eyes the moment he heard something. Drawing his sword, he and the woman with silver-white hair stood up, looking out into the darkness of the desert, sensing the presence coming closer. After a prolonged silence, the blonde haired girl noticed someone in red and blue waving to them. Her eyes sparkled in delight.

"Heeeeey!" Lloyd called out, waving. "Colette!"

"Lloyd!" the girl called Colette shot up in an instant, running over to the brunet. Lloyd laughed, throwing down his stuff, racing to meet the girl half way. Matthew laughed lightly, picking up Lloyd's belongings, heading towards the campsite. Colette tripped over a small sand dune, falling into Lloyd's grasp. However, the force of the trip caused them both to fall into the sand. They shared glances for a moment before laughing together. A voice called to them, making them sit up.

"Colette! We're glad we found you." Genis said as the blonde got up and hugged the elf boy.

"You're both here. I was so worried." The Chosen shed a few tears of joy. "I'm so happy." Her blue eyes fell on the two Adepts, who returned her gaze.

"Hello Colette. It's good to finally meet you." Karis said, smiling. "I'm Karis, and this is Matthew." She introduced her spiky blond friend. "We heard a good amount from your friends here when we met up with them." Matthew nodded with Karis as Colette turned to Lloyd and Genis, who were grinning.

"They want to come with us, Colette. To help you regenerate the world." The brunet said.

"Oh!" The blonde giggled. "That's great! Come on, let's go back to the camp then!"

The four teens nodded in agreement, excited to finally have caught up. However, Matthew stared at the back of Colette's head, almost boring a hole through it. This was the girl he had to protect, to guard. She was the Chosen of Mana, and he was dubbed the guardian of mana. Something like that. When they approached the campsite with the mercenary and teacher—Kratos and Raine—a whole explanation was in place. Noishe lied down observing the conversation, somewhat.

Lloyd and Genis first explained the incident of Iselia, which the other three had come to know about when they had traveled back to Iselia to pick up a few more items. The village was in flames, though most died out as the villagers had been working to put it out. Next, they explained how they met Karis and Matthew along the way, and how they were lost. Karis invited herself in the conversation whereas Matthew remained silent, but still paid attention. He couldn't help but feel someone was staring at him. He managed to look away from his random transfixed gaze on the fire in the center, locking gazes with the auburn-haired mercenary.

His eyes bored a hole through him this time, causing the teen to flinch a bit. Whoa, what a gaze.

"I see." Raine said as Genis, Lloyd and Karis finished their story. "Well, I'm glad you're all right, all four of you. But tell me, Karis and Matthew, why is it you both have a large amount of mana and you can both use magic when you're both completely human?" This caught Kratos' attention very well.

"Well, I suppose it has to do with our family lineage." The green haired girl began. "It may be because we have elven ancestry." She lied, but it worked anyway. They couldn't tell them now.

"Hm, I see. That makes sense." The Iselian teacher noted. However, the mana emitting from Matthew was exceptionally large. Larger than anything she's ever seen before.

"To be honest, we're lost, but we're looking for someone." Matthew parted in. "More so me, but…"

"Who are you looking for, anyway?" Lloyd wondered. "You didn't say before when we met, though we didn't press on that, either."

The blond turned to Lloyd with a sad gaze. "I'm looking for my father." This phrase almost caused Kratos to shudder, though he kept it invisible to the rest of them. "He was with us when we came to this…odd world, I guess you can say. Then, we were separated. I don't know where he is…" Matthew looked downcast, sighing sadly. "I know he's alive. I can sense him, but it's very faint. I know he can handle himself but still…He's my dad." Karis put a reassuring hand on her friend's shoulder.

"We'll find Isaac. I'm sure of it, Matthew. We just have to keep trying." She said hopefully.

"Yeah." He raised his head. "I just can't give up. I know he's out there somewhere. I can't lose him. Mom would be… really sad."

Lloyd sadly looked over his new swordsman friend, almost feeling some form of kinship with him. He believed somewhere that he'd meet his real father at some point. Dirk told him that his father was never found at the bottom of cliff, so there was an assumption the man was alive. Somewhere. The red-clad boy felt the man was so ever close, too. Like, if he was right in front of him. "I can see why you feel that way, Matthew." Lloyd began, gaining the attention of everyone around the camp. "I… Dirk told me about my mother, and that my father wasn't found with us and Noishe. I…I hope that somewhere along this journey, that I find my real dad, too." He sighed heavily.

"I just hope he's out there." The brunet finished. Colette repeated the same motion Karis did for Matthew, smiling.

"He's out there, Lloyd. We'll help you find him, too."

Kratos' heart almost sunk at this point, but he kept his emotions well hidden.

Matthew lit up a little, feeling like he could actually abide in Lloyd. They shared something in common; they both want to find their fathers, and they were both skilled swordsman. "Lloyd. I'll help you as well. We both are looking for the same thing, our dads. We'll find them together, okay?" The brunet looked up, gazing in the spiky blond's own. He nodded, feeling that reassuring smile prod his features.

"Yeah. We'll both find our dads."

* * *

And, I know. It's short. XD Heh… And yes I made Matthew an angel. Namely because of his Sol and Luna contact. To those who have played Golden Sun: Dark Dawn, you'll probably know where that comes from. Also, my Matthew is in the Samurai class now, so that explains his Psynergy in this. He'll still have Ragnorak/Odyssey because I said so. Karis is in the White Mage class because it's fun and she needs to be a healer. So yeah. Review if you like.


	3. Chapter 3

**Kalakakuai: **Lol, I was pondering that, too. As before when I post a new story, I get so excited that I don't watch myself. xD I'll correct that to something else. Glad you like regardless of my error. I was pondering whether to use Isaac (in his younger 17-year old self) or Matthew. But, since Lloyd's looking for his dad (in a way) and Matthew has a father, it seemed to connect better for me. As for Matthew being involved, well, I just wanted to use him and stuff. No worries, Isaac's getting involved in the plot, too. :D Trust me. For your second review, a Unison Attack like that actually sounds cool. Rising Falcon Ragnorak is quite catchy. Or, maybe Rising Ragnorak as suggested? Your description actually sounds cool; I might use it later on and credit you. Thanks!

Another one I was thinking about was Dragon Demon Fang, which both Lloyd and Matthew strike in a downward thrust at the enemy at the same time, with Dragon Cloud's Psynergy covering them (in fire, of course). I was also wanting to combine Sword Rain with Emerald Blitz (of the Verdant Sword's unleash). Just an idea there. Another thing, I was thinking Karis and Genis could get a Unison Attack, but I'll have to ponder on that more. As for Tyrell, don't worry. We'll see him and maybe some of the other DD cast later. I will say Amiti will make his entrance in this chapter (but that's all the spoilers I'll say)

Anyway, thanks for the review(s)! I appreciate it. Now, for chapter 3! Here we go!

* * *

**Of Mana and Psynergy**

**III**

Thirty minutes while being in the company of the Chosen, Raine and Kratos, the combined group agreed on continuing through the desert at night. It was from the behest of the four teens that joined them, and even the Chosen herself agreed with them. It was five against the two adults, who sighed and agreed with them for the time. The idea had been brought up due to Karis' suggestion earlier.

_"It would be easier to travel at night since it's cooler than during the daytime." The Wind Adept began. "It makes traveling easier, if you know what I'm saying. It makes sense, right?"_

_Kratos stared at her before sighing. "You have a point, but I would rather not endanger the Chosen's life."_

_"That's why we're all here!" Lloyd chimed in, grinning. "We'll protect Colette. Trust us, we've been walking through the desert at night since Matthew had brought it up." All eyes turned the Earth Adept, who smiled in embarrassment. "Then, when the sun comes up, we find some shade to rest under until night falls. It's tedious, but it works!" _

_"Hm, that _does _make sense." Raine added, having thought it over. "Still though, we run the risk of thieves and bandits attacking more often."_

_"They won't stand a chance against all of us." Genis smiled. "We're stronger together than separately."_

_"Regardless…" Kratos started but was cut in by Colette herself._

_"I'd love to travel at night!" She chirped. "They are right. It is easier to walk during the night when it's cooler. We'll just have to be extra careful, that's all!" The four teens smiled in victory; if they had Colette on their side, then they were winning this conversation bout. Their eyes fell on the two adults of the group, who exchanged glances at first before reluctantly agreeing. _

_"If it's the Chosen's wish, then so be it." The mercenary said._

_"All right!" Lloyd did a fist pump. "Let's pack up and go now!"_

And, that's exactly how they ended up walking now. The formation of how they traveled was easily planned; Kratos led the front, Lloyd and Colette, along with Genis in the center, the two boys sandwiched her between them, Raine behind them and Karis and Matthew behind her along with Noishe. Very simple, very effective and the evening grew quiet as they trekked along. The peaceful moment was soon interrupted by none other than bandits. "Ugh, more of them?" Lloyd complained, drawing out his dual swords. Raine questionably looked at him.

"What do you mean, 'more of them'? Did you run into bandits on your way here?"

"Yes, exactly." The brunet frowned.

"Step aside! The one we want is that girl!" One of the bandits pointed at Karis, who was already out with her bow. Her purple eyes locked onto the bandits when they pointed her out.

"What?" She questioned.

"Wench blew our men away with magic! Now we'll get even and take her off your hands." Another scowled. Their eyes also set upon Colette and Raine, greedily grinning. "We'll take the other girls, too. Surely they'll be tasty for our own pleasures. Heh-heh-heh!"

"Urgh, disgusting." Genis grumbled.

Kratos remained silent, but his eyes deathly set upon the men before them. There were definitely more of them than the group's numbers. It was twenty to seven; unfair odds and it was bad enough the mercenary had to hold his strength back so the others wouldn't be suspicious of him. Everyone got their weapons ready, glaring at the bandits and them glaring back. "You fools are outnumbered! Just hand them over and we'll spare your lives!"

"Not a chance! **Demon Fang**!" Lloyd shouted, blasting one of the fools with his technique.

Lloyd's attack began the fight of the night. The bandits leapt forward, one after another to attack. Kratos gripped his blade in his right hand, shield upon his left and engaged combat with three of them at once. Lloyd stayed in front of Colette, meeting two head on, determined to protect his friend. Raine and Genis were beginning to cast magic to assist from a little ways off, with the elder Sage sibling casting Sharpness on both Kratos and Lloyd's swords. Genis would back up with his attacking magic. Karis was assisting them with her own Psynergy if needed. However, she was focused on hitting the buffoons with precise strikes of her bow. Matthew, taking his own chances, decided to become surrounded by the remaining fifteen bandits. They all had swords and knives equipped, which wasn't much a surprise to the Earth Adept.

Kratos blocked a vertical attack aimed for his shoulder with his shield, pushing one bandit off with it. The next came around; the mercenary rounded a kick to the grunt's abdomen, knocking him a distance back. The third bandit tried to cut Kratos off from behind, only to be met with a penetration of the blade through his neck. He dropped dead, enraging the other two. They charged wildly at their friend's killer, hellbent on killing him, too. Kratos tsked, thrusting forward with his own version of Demon Fang. The two foolish bandits grunted as they were stabbed simultaneously, falling to their deaths.

"Colette, get behind me!" Lloyd shouted as he blocked, or tried to block, an attack from one of the bandits. He felt himself stupid to use wooden blades against real ones, but it was all he had. Iselia wasn't known for having real weapons, seeing as they rarely left the village. One bandit sneered as he was able to break through Lloyd's swords, now aiming for the brunet. With a gasping cry, Colette chucked her chakrams skillfully with a Ray Thrust shout. The spinning disc smacked and sliced her friend's assailant, essentially saving his life. Lloyd turned and found the girl catching the thrown discs almost acrobatically as if she practiced for several years. He smiled, but felt like a burden now. He couldn't defend himself! Karis saw the bandit getting up; however he didn't stay up long as she shot him down.

"Damn it." Lloyd snarled lowly to himself. Instead of him protecting Colette, he was being protected by her. That's not how it went! The second bandit saw his opportunity to strike, charging for the red-clad boy from behind.

"Lloyd! Watch out!" Colette called out.

"Don't worry, I got this! **Fire Ball**!" Genis chanted, sending the three, flaming balls of magic to singe the attacking man from hitting Lloyd. The man screamed loudly as he fell to his death.

"Thanks Genis."

The half-elf boy grinned. "You're welcome, Lloyd!"

"There's more of them." Kratos said, having eyed the fifteen bandits seemingly gathered around one area. "We're not yet clear."

"Wait, where's Matthew?" Karis asked, growing worried.

"Over here!" The teen called, making himself known atop a pillar from almost nowhere as he towered over the bandits. They were wide-eyed with surprise, almost in disbelief. The spiky blond smiled as he leapt off the pillar of stone, jumping over the bandits—funny as how their heads followed his midair flip—and he landed beside his best friend. Karis shook her head, Genis and Raine were blinking, Lloyd and Colette were baffled and Kratos just stared. What on earth…? "Karis, I'll hit them with the sword, concentrate on Blue Comet."

"All right."

"Blue Comet?" Raine wondered.

"It's…an attack." Matthew said simply, before looking towards the weaponless Lloyd. He quickly glanced at Karis who seemingly understood. Both teens approached Lloyd, both taking out a pair of swords from nowhere and giving it to him. What the?

"Where…?" Lloyd questioned.

"Don't worry about it." Karis said with a smile. "We'll let you borrow these for awhile." Lloyd glanced down at the weapons, rather, different swords with amazement. They were distinct, but had power to them. Almost as if these weapons had an ability all of their own. His chocolate eyes looked up to the two Adepts, nodding. "Thank-you, but what are they, just regular swords?"

"No." Matthew shook his head. "We'll explain later, come on! We're going to need you in this!"

Lloyd stared at the blades for one last second; they were both light swords from what he gathered. One was coated in a golden color, almost looked like a cross between a rapier and a long sword, feeling like light magic emitted from it. The other was also a cross of a long sword and a katana. It was bluish purple in color, and felt like the power of water was within his grasp. It was strange to say, but perhaps these weapons were mana infused? Whatever; if it meant having these at his side for now, it would be worth it. Gripping the blades' hilts tightly, he immediately felt alive again.

"Humph. Just because you beat five of us don't mean you're getting away easily!" another bandit said angrily. "Get them!" And so they charged again. Idiots. Kratos, Lloyd and Matthew stood in front of the others, swords ready. "We'll handle this!" The red-clad boy said. Matthew turned to Karis, nodding. They would abandon the Blue Comet attack for now.

"Are you ready?" Lloyd said, his body emitting in an unusual aura; Kratos and Matthew seemingly echoed it, the former being almost curious by it. The two other swordsmen shifted into a stance. "All right, let's do this!" The bandits were rushing forward, swords and knives raised to strike! A rush of wind Psynergy filled within Matthew's grasp, the spiky blond releasing it, shouting "**Angel Spear**!" Kratos, while he hid it well, flinched. This child knew an angelic skill? Since when? However, he was proven incorrect when the magic that showered from the blond's hands were an incantation to increase their strength. Interesting.

With the bandits so close, the three executed an attack together, Lloyd's blades thrusting forward, Kratos swinging his blade towards them, and Matthew launching from a diagonal direction above Lloyd.

"**_Double Rain Strike_**!" They shouted in unison; Kratos struck by flinging out his Double Demon Fang, Lloyd followed up with Sword Rain and Matthew ended with Quick Strike. They ran through the pile of bandits with ease as the magic of the Wind Psynergy powered them like an engine. The trio seemingly flew through them as if they were flying upon a light of a feather. Raine, Genis, Colette and Karis watched in amazement as their attackers fell, one by one, at the swordsmen's combined strength. When the bandits fell dead, on the opposite side of them, were the three, still alit in the purple aura. It faded seconds after, however.

"Whoa. That was odd, but it happened again." Lloyd said, looking at his fellow swordsman.

"Indeed. But we won." Matthew grinned lightly.

"Hm." Kratos pondered.

"Wow Lloyd, you're so strong!" Colette chirped happily, putting her chakrams away. Kratos simply sheathed his sword and put his shield away, closing his eyes. Already, so much was happening and it hadn't been a month yet. The teens all clattered together, chatting about the battle and how awesome the finishing move was. They gave each other compliments and praise, and Lloyd brought up the question he wanted answers to; "Say Karis, Matthew. What are these swords exactly?" Now, the attention was on the Adepts again. Well, it would have come sooner or later, so may as well explain.

"Those light swords are called the Phaeton's Blade—" Karis began, pointing to the blade coated in gold, "—and this is the Masamune." She finished, pointing to the bluish-purple coated katana-like blade.

"They're made especially for people who can't use full fledged swords and pack quite a punch." Matthew followed up after his friend. "They have magical qualities to them, called "Unleashes", if you will."

"Unleashes?" Genis wondered.

Matthew turned to him. "Yes, that's what they're called. They have the power to connect to their wielder and apply added strength and abilities to their fighting. This power happens not as often, but the more you keep using the swords, the more the Unleashes are revealed and used. The swords themselves are magically infused, and have elemental properties. Every weapon that is magic-infused have their own Unleash powers. Some have at least two, stronger ones have at least four."

Karis continued from there. "Matthew's weapon is a light blade, called the Verdant Sword and it's of the Wind element. Mine is called the Sagittarius Bow and it's also a Wind elemental weapon."

"Wow, I didn't know weapons could be magically infused…But then again, it's not unheard of." The youngest Sage sibling admitted.

"I'm glad you don't think it's odd." Matthew chuckled. "Seeing as everything else about us is…odd."

"I don't think you're odd." Colette smiled.

Karis returned the warm smile. "Thank-you, Colette. You're really nice."

As the teens continued chattering away, and they eventually continued their way towards Triet, Kratos kept a close examination upon them. They were getting close, as teenage friendship and relationships usually are. When kids gather, they tend to become friends. This situation was no different, but the mercenary sighed anyhow. This was going to be a rough adventure. A couple hours were passing as their trek was soon coming to a stop; the sun was beginning to rise. "Ah man, not again." Genis paled, looking around. "There's no shade or shelter anywhere in sight." Kratos even looked around himself and spotted a sheltering of sorts, but unfortunately, it was much too far with the group of people who weren't resistant to the heat. Either they could continue in the heat and possibly risk the chance the Chosen would pass out from exhaustion or…

"I can make us shade."

All eyes turned to the owner of the voice, Matthew. Karis smiled at her friend, agreeing. "That's a good idea, Matt. Why didn't we think of that earlier?"

"Wait, how will you make shade?" Genis asked, now curious, but doubtfully so.

"I can using…magic." The Earth Adept replied, trying to get used to saying magic in the place of Psynergy.

"Wh-what?"

"Just watch."

Now this even got Kratos curious. Matthew quickly used his sword as a large pencil, carving out a huge circle in the desert by allowing his blade's tip to follow him as he walked around. He put his sword away, crossing his hands over each other like an 'X' shape. "**Avalanche**!" He yelled, creating a large tremor, much worse than an earthquake, but only in a concentrated area. The area in the circle leveled downward like a circular ditch. After that, Matthew switched something around, shuffling things around quickly from inside his jacket. What the? Well, after that, Genis and Raine sensed his mana presence had shifted somehow. Kratos even recognized it. What had he done that made it do so? In the event the blond shouted, "**Grand Gaia**!" The magic carved around the circular pattern, nearly creating a stone fortress with even a small opening for them to get in and out of. Clever.

The Sylvarant natives stared in bewilderment even Kratos. He'd never seen magic performed in such a way it aided outside of battle. Karis clapped her hands excitedly. "That's great, Matt! But did you really have to…?" She trailed, the spiky blond nodding.

"Yeah. I had to. It was the only way to regain the moves back…" He replied softly, trailing off as well. The two turn to the stunned people, chuckling. "Well, let's go in before the sun comes up!" They went through the rather small but fitting entrance and Noishe even tagged along! Lloyd shook out of his amazement and grinned.

"We got lucky that Matthew can use…magic like that." He laughed awkwardly, following the protozoan dog.

"Indeed! Wait for me, Lloyd!" Colette chirped, heading in after he did.

"It…It's simply—!" Raine began, but Genis stopped her.

"Sis, let's go before we die of heat exhaustion. I'm just as impressed as you are, but really, the sun's coming up." The younger half-elf said, following his friends. Kratos sighed; this was getting weirder and weirder by the minute. Eventually, he and Raine followed the excited batch of teens in their makeshift 'fort'—whatever you wanted to call it—and settled in to wait for nightfall. Genis volunteered to make lunch as soon as they were all rested up. Kratos allowed himself to become the day-watch, just as Matthew had before, and waited for everyone to be asleep. The mats were spread out and the teens, including Raine, were out. Thankfully the 'shade fort' was blocking the sun from above them, however, a small hole in the center was allowing in light from the flaming ball of energy. Sighing again, the mercenary's eyes roved over every one of them, and locked upon the red-clad dual swordsman when they found him.

What he said the night before hit him hard, and even Matthew's own broke a little ice off his heart. Lloyd had been…searching for him?

Speaking of the Adept in question, the auburn found his eyes trailing to the sleeping form of the spiky blond. However, his trained angelic hearing made the man aware the teenager wasn't sleep. He was resting, but awake. Knowing it would be useless to try and converse with the boy, Kratos decided it wouldn't do any harm in trying. The boy's style of the sword was different than what he had seen lately, especially with Lloyd's unique double style. "I noticed you're awake. You shouldn't be hiding it, and you should be sleep." He began lightly towards the boy. Matthew let out a low, deep and long sigh before sitting up crossed legged.

"Sorry." He apologized. "Even though you're not my dad, you still have that quality of one that had been." The blond Adept mentioned. Kratos' gaze hardened on the boy, who simply yawned. "Only my father could tell if I was sleep or not."

"I see…"

A rather awkward silence passed them. The boy had hit a small nerve in the back of the mercenary's mind. Before he could comment on the boy's swordsmanship, Matthew spoke up again. "I hope I can find my father. And, I know Lloyd will find his…"

"I hope he does as well. A child shouldn't be separated from his parents."

The blond turned his way, smiling honestly. "Yeah."

-x-x-x-

"I'm sorry sir, I haven't seen anyone of that description pass through here." A woman said sadly.

"I see. Well, thank you for your time." Turning out of the building, Isaac sighed lightly as he walks along, his boots making sound as he steps. He had been on the search for his son and Karis for a good few days, having ended up in the city of Asgard. While there, he managed to buy a map of the place and supplies. It wasn't a lot, and thankfully the money he had, which were coins, were passable as what they called "gald" coins. The bearded man kept his eyes roving over the city, watching as children played, and the windmills spun in coordination with the wind's direction. The place was peaceful, reminding him of fond memories where he experienced such peace. Shaking his head, the tall blond exited Asgard, only to be stopped by a man with long, blue hair, green eyes and wearing a cape.

For a second, he thought this person was someone he knew, but then felt a different presence, a different power residing within him, and this power was not the same as he possessed. Besides, this guy had short, elven-like ears. "You know, you're a slippery one." The man said, crossing his arms. "You're not easily found."

Isaac simply chuckled, and would have his hands in his pockets if he weren't carrying a pack over his shoulder. "What's the occasion?" He asked nonchalantly.

"You're simply an interesting one; appearing as if from nowhere; your mana signature is greatly vast, and it isn't the first we've seen. A man like you would be an easy target for power-hungry fools."

Isaac paused a moment before smirking. "It seems I've done that lately. I can't blame that. It's not entirely a lie, however. I've had many a man after my ass more times than I can count." Seeing as this 'mana signature' business was of a Psynergy power, then yes, Isaac had it. After all, he had absorbed more of the power of the light than anyone else he had known. He aged slower than normal, and if he shaved, he would appear as if he were still in his teens rather than looking like a grown man in his thirties. Slowly, he eyed the blue-haired elf man. "And, if this is true, what will you do, that you know my mana signature is an apple for any deranged man's plans?" The blond didn't seem to thoroughly care, as his tone of voice wasn't as serious.

"You could prove useful for the Renegades."

"And why would I want to join your cult?"

This irked the man somewhat but he hid it. "It is simply a group of us that are opposing something greater."

"How will this benefit me?" Isaac raised a questioning eyebrow, frowning even. _Now_ it was getting serious. "I simply don't have time to be…playing with anyone's games. I am here to look for my son, and that is all. If you'll excuse me, I must be going." The swordsman bypassed the strange cape-wearing man, not noticing a smile curl upon his face. The half-elf man had the Adept right where he wanted him, and he would play this card well.

"Your son, you say? Wouldn't his name be…Matthew?"

Isaac froze in his tracks, but didn't bother turning around. The blue-haired man heard the other's steps ceasing, knowing he got him perfectly. Now, he was waiting for the man to admit it. "When I said your mana signature wasn't the first we've seen, I meant it. We encountered a boy that looked very similar to you with a signature that resembled yours in many ways; he could have been your double." The cape-wearing male turned halfway. "He is traveling in the Triet desert now with a few friends of his." Isaac shifted very lightly, chuckling. That sounded very much like his son; he was traveling with his friends, and that was all that mattered at the moment. He was safe with his companions, but that didn't mean he wouldn't stop here. He had to go to his son and make sure he was all right with his own eyes.

"I have a map; I will find this Triet desert and go to him. Besides, I can sense his presence regardless. I suppose I'll thank you for the information."

"It will be a long journey from here to there. The chances of him moving to another location are obviously high. The Triet desert is nowhere you want to be." The man began again, turning fully. "I can help you make the search for your son easier, if you wish for it."

Isaac pondered a moment, still chuckling though. Why would he agree to this? Sure, he wanted to make sure Matthew and Karis were fine, but this encounter with this persistent elf man was interesting to say in the least. Why was he so bent on helping him? What were his true intentions? It was true that Isaac wasn't a Wind Adept; he couldn't read minds like his friends could, however he could understand the flow of someone's emotions by touching them. It was a gained ability by the heart of Alchemy's release in his home world. Knowing the man would persist if he refused, Isaac decided to give this a try. After all, it could be worth it. "My, you have your way with words, my friend. Tell me about this…idea you seem to be planning under that mask of yours." He also could see through masks of people as well.

Smirking, the man in the cape nodded. "You saw right through my ruse, but majority of what I said was all in truth. Let us talk in a more private area. I assure you, that you will be reunited with your son." The man pushed his blue locks of bangs from his face, his emerald eyes shining for a moment. "By the way, my name is Yuan Ka-Fai. You may simply refer to me as Yuan, however." Isaac nodded, turning his body halfway to meet Yuan's gaze, that smile he normally carried with him exposing itself upon his face. "Very well, Yuan. Lead the way." He said casually as if he had known the guy for years.

"Certainly." Yuan approached Isaac, touching his shoulder. In a flash of warping light magic, the two disappeared.

-x-x-x-

"Mm, lunch was so good, Genis!" Colette chirped happily. "I thought I was going to eat too much."

"Ah-ha, thanks Colette." The elf mage blushed in embarrassment. Karis had volunteered to clean the bowls and utensils, which had startled them for a moment, namely because their only water source were in the canteens. The green haired girl proved them wrong, using her magic to clean them. Water Psynergy, as Matthew noted to himself, grinning as he helped dry them off when his friend finished. They were packing up to go as the sun was beginning to set; while they waited, some had woken up, beginning to tell stories or in Lloyd's case, train. Thankfully, Matthew's 'shelter' was large enough to allow the red-clad dual swordsman to practice his thrusts at the least. Colette smiled as she had sat down and watched her friend perform his techniques in unison or one after the other, trying to perfect them with his newly acquired—if only temporary—blades. They were comfortable in his hands, and he loved how they moved in the flow of his body when he used a technique.

Kratos even got some time with him to point out his flaws and try to better them; however this only upset the brunet at one point until he accepted that the mercenary was only trying to help. Night would soon fall and they would get moving again. Since it was cooling down, Matthew lowered the 'fort' with the use of his magic. His body had enveloped in a golden light and the cavern of sorts reacted to it. When it was gone, they all heard something!

"Foul demons!" It sounded like a young man's voice! "No mercy then… **Eruption**!" A tall tower of flames erupted from nowhere, but towards the left of the group. To the Sage siblings and Kratos, it was a large amount of mana. To Lloyd, Colette and Noishe, it was a huge flaming pillar of fire. To Karis and Matthew, it was Fire Psynergy, and if _that_ voice said it, then there was only one person who could also be here. "No…It can't be…" Karis gasped.

"I think it is. Come on, Karis! We have to be sure!"

"R-right."

"Wait, where are you going?" Raine asked, but the two were off like rockets. Lloyd frowned, hurrying after them, followed by Genis, Colette, and Noishe. Raine and Kratos exchanged looks before heading in the direction the irrational teenagers went. They hadn't gotten far though; they had stopped to watch something before them. When the two adults approached, they saw it all; a young man in about his late teens, fighting off a dozen monsters all at once! It was composed of several poisonous snakes and scorpions, all falling to the boy's hands. He had short, light blue hair with a cowlick protruding from the top of his head, emerald eyes, fair skin, and was dressed in what appeared to be royal garbs for even a commoner—if he was one. Kratos immediately froze at the sight of this kid; he had dangerously reminded him of someone he known and still knew. Blasted half-elf…was…was this…_his_? But he didn't ever recall the man ever having children so there was no way—!

"**Frostbite**!" The teen shouted next, summoning a giant crystallized glacier from absolutely nowhere as his body seemingly alit itself in a bluish glow when the magic was used. It hit all the monsters, but not all of them were finished off. Matthew and Karis exchanged glances quickly before assuming battle positions, rushing to the other teen's aid. Not noticing them, the blue-haired boy growled lowly as his enemies seemingly didn't vanish! Those were high level Psynergy spells and yet it did nothing? What was this place?!

"Amiti!" Matthew and Karis cried together, rushing to his side.

"M-Matthew? Karis?! You both are safe!" Amiti, as he was called, exclaimed, his green eyes widened in shock. "You're both all right. I thought you—"

"We can explain later. Are you okay?" The Wind Adept asked.

"I am fine, but these creatures are not falling to any of my casts. They persist. What is wrong?"

"Let's just say our average Psynergy isn't as strong yet. It needs to adjust to the…magic here first." Matthew said, almost quietly. Amiti blinked but seemingly understood.

"Very well then, shall we destroy them?"

"Amiti! You're a prince! You shouldn't be saying it so casually like that!" Karis reprimanded.

The teen nodded. "I know. I blame Eoleo's influence. For old time's sake, let's defeat them."

The others of Sylvarant eventually came on the scene, weapons out and helped engage the monsters that continued to persist. It wasn't long until the snakes and scorpions fell to Lloyd's Tempest, Colette's Ray Thrust, Genis' Wind Blade, Kratos' Double Demon Fang, Matthew's Helm Splitter and Amiti's Double Shot from his Silver Bow. When the fight ended, Raine and Karis assisted in healing the group for injuries, small or not. "Well, that's over." The brunet said, feeling somewhat proud he mastered a new technique. "If I could, I'd want more of them to come from nowhere just so I can keep practicing."

Genis sighed. "Of course you'd say something like that, Lloyd."

"Hey!"

"So, who are you?" Raine cut in the bantering of the teens as she approached Amiti. The blue-haired teen straightened his composure, standing proudly but modestly at the same time. Seeing as he would most likely be traveling with his friends and these people, he would hide his identity as the prince of a kingdom.

"Amiti from Ayuthay. I am a friend of Matthew and Karis." He announced. "Then again, this place is strange to be located on Weyard…"

Everyone caught that and the two other Adepts froze on the spot. Uh-oh. They forgot to indulge Amiti on their secrets. Crap, now it was too late. "Weyard? Where is _that_?" Raine wondered. "I've never heard of this place, no less an Ayuthay. Please explain." The young prince blinked and stared at the silver-haired woman as if she had grown three heads and wings. She had never heard of Ayuthay and Weyard?! What kind of preposterous…? What was going on? Where they being influenced by a Dream Leaf or something? No, Kolima had been cured ages ago! What was causing this woman to not remember the name of their own world?

"Are you serious? This place is Weyard, this world is Weyard." Amiti said, shocking the others, except Matthew and Karis. They were paling, but all the while, listening.

"No, this is surely Sylvarant." Raine countered. "You must be ill or something."

"Sylvarant? What kind of place is—"

"_This_ place is called Sylvarant." Lloyd replied, frowning. "Even I know that. Why are you…?"

Amiti shook his head. He wasn't ill at all. He was for sure this was Weyard. Why weren't Matthew and Karis backing him up? Then again, they looked as if they were paling or worried about something. That was unusual. The blue-haired teen turned to his friends frowning for himself. "Matthew, Karis? What is going on? What are…? Why are these people saying this is some Sylvarant place?"

"Because it is." Genis added.

"I…I'm very sure it is." Colette slid in.

"…" Kratos dotted. Something fishy was going on here…

Sighing, knowing the small secrets were going to be blown one way or another, the pair of Adepts cringed as they began speaking up. "Amiti, this isn't Weyard. Not anymore." Karis started. "In fact, Matt and I were sure this wasn't Weyard because of the strange presence we felt."

"Yeah, I felt it, too when I came upon this wretched desert." The prince added. "But…does that mean we're in a different world altogether?" The Sylvarant natives, overhearing all of this, were wide eyed, even Kratos. This was news to them; people from another world? Was that even possible? Was this the cause of magitechnology that had vanished within the shadows of history? Having not seen their reactions, Matthew nodded slowly. Amiti clenched his fists, his eyes narrowing in anger, but not at his friends. "It had to be those Psynergy Vortices! It's the only explanation! The Tuaparang is most likely behind this!"

"We can't say for sure if it was…" Karis softly added. "But we did encounter a huge one by the Lookout Cabin."

"And I encountered one when giving commands to the soldiers outside the palace to reconstruct our city." Amiti closed his eyes as he sighed. "It felt like my entire being was being drained. I got too close to it… I…got entranced by it."

"So did we." Matthew admitted, "And Dad tried to stop us. So now, we're here to find my Dad and somehow get out of this place."

"Whoa whoa whoa! Time OUT!" Lloyd cried, making a 'T' with his arms, now cutting into the conversation. They were ultimately lost on this, and now it was getting confusing to understand what was going on. The brunet looked at the three Adepts, scratching his head. "Sorry to butt in but seriously! What's going on here? What are these…vortices you were talking about? This Weyard place? This is all too weird, if you ask me, but it seems all so important to you."

"In other words…" Raine said as she crossed her arms, narrowing her blue eyes upon the three. "What are you hiding?"

The Adepts glanced at one another, with Matthew and Karis sighing heavily. They had blown their small cover, if it was any. They would have to come clean about themselves, and it wasn't going to be easy. Sighing, Matthew sadly looked up at the Iselian teacher, frowning. They were in deep shit now. "Where…should we start?"

"From the beginning. We can walk to Triet while we do." She said.

This was going to be a long night.

* * *

And small cliffhanger. This story isn't going to last long, so I had to sort of urge the plot to move forward a bit. Not only that, my hands are hurting. Took me three and a half hours to type all this up. Review if you like!


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